Adidas's leftover Yeezy sneakers stock will be sold again following the infamous partnership split with the rapper Kanye West, also known as Ye, its CEO Bjoern Gulden confirmed.
The German-based athleisure juggernaut cut ties with West last year over his anti-Semitic remarks.
Adidas Plans to Sell Leftover Yeezy Stocks Despite Kanye West Split
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 07: Kanye West speaks on stage at the "Kanye West and Steven Smith in Conversation with Mark Wilson" at the on November 07, 2019 in New York City.
As per CNBC, the global sportswear giant Adidas has announced its decision to sell off the remaining inventory of Yeezy sneakers after its highly-publicized split with rapper and fashion designer West.
Initially, Adidas planned to burn the leftover Yeezy merchandise following the break up with West.
However, after reaching out to NGOs, its CEO realized there are better solutions than going that route moving forward. He emphasized that doing so will leave significant environmental damage, considering that the leftover inventory spans several million pairs. In other words, it is not a sustainable choice.
With that in mind, the big boss of the global brand announced amid the annual shareholder meeting on Thursday that they plan to sell Yeezy again. The Hollywood Reporter notes that the contract Adidas with West still entitles the designer to receive at least 15 percent of the profit. So the rapper is expected to make money off this.
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Proceeds to be Donated to Charities Affected by Ye's Comments
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - FEBRUARY 10: A sign hangs outside of an Adidas store on February 10, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Adidas is expecting to report a loss in 2023 after terminating a lucrative deal with rap artist Ye (formerly Kanye West) after he made a series of antisemitic and racist remarks. The company is now trying to decide what to do with $1.3 billion of the artist's unsold Yeezy branded merchandise.
However, Adidas has chosen a charitable route rather than purely focusing on profit. The big boss of the sportswear giant disclosed that the sale proceeds would be donated to charities.
Gulden notes that the beneficiaries of the proceeds will primarily go to the affected charities by the anti-Semitic remarks of Ye. On top of that, the Adidas boss says that some of the sales will go straight to organizations helping the giant firm.
However, CNBC notes that the chief executive failed to disclose specific charities. He says, "When we do that and how we do that remains to be seen, but [we are] working on that."
The current Adidas CEO Gulden started his role in the German juggernaut last January 1, replacing former chief exec Kasper Rorsted.
According to Aljazeera, the Adidas chief exec, who used to lead Puma, defended the collaboration of the global sportswear brand and Ye. He notes that West is "perhaps the most creative mind in our industry." But he acknowledges that he is a "difficult" person, adding that cutting ties with the rapper is right.
Adidas says that the leftover Yeezy sneakers still have a whopping $1 billion selling value.
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